Growing up in Konoha
by Hell Bound Angel
Summary: Konoha University founded by the first hokage and all hokages graduated tehre, now watch as Naruto 18years old now enters along with Ino and Sakura.NaruXSaku NaruXIno SasuXSaku
1. Konoha University

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_Author's notes_

_Ok very first fanfic I've written in a long time, and NO I don't own Naruto or any of its characters._

_  
AU it's the same konoha village but a bit more military based, so you move up in ranks with tests scores e.t.c.  
Most of the characters are around 18years of age at the start it's Naruto X Sakura but it'll move around a bit, but might eventually come around to this pairing.  
Sorry if my grammars crap didn't use beta readers and what not, but I just had this idea in my head one day and wrote it on a whim, I'm hoping to continue this fanfic, if my determination is strong as lee's or Naruto's it should but if not, not sure  
Well enough talking from me, hope you guys like it, let me know what you think either you like it or you don't I don't mind.  
There are some cliché scenes but I'm sure that was to be expected right?  
Once again thanks guys._

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On a bright sunny day a pink haired girl was standing in front of a notice board looking intensely at it outside the prestigious Konoha Ninja University.

Konoha University, is where the 3 legendary sannins graduated from, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru. It was founded by the first hokage and all Hokage's after that have attended this university as well.

Her names Haruno Sakura, 18years of age, seeing if she had made the list of 1st year entrees into the university.

_I wonder if I made it, I studied so hard for it, Unlike Naruto I don't have the stamina or endurance to be able to make it in here with Taijustu and Ninjutsu skills so I had to go through it with my intellectual ability...hopefully I got to be in the field of medicine._

She looked down on her folder, Sakura Haruno - Number 10018,

_Hope my numbers up there...  
_

She scrolled through the list of candidates who passed through in the intelligence test.

10012 - Konoha Politics

10015 - Konoha Treasurer

10016 - War Strategist

10017 - Combat Medic

_Wow Combat medic, you need level score of 95+ I wonder who got that..._

10018 - Medic_  
_

A huge smile came across Sakura face.

_Inner Sakura: YES! I got in! Take that Ino - pig!  
_While her inner self was cheering on, she didn't realize that her body on the outside was also moving to what her inner self was doing, so she did a fist pump into the air, but in the process she accidentally hit the person in front of her.  
" I'm so sorry are you alright?"

The person turns around, he was about a head taller then her, long black bangs, pale skin and his ebony eyes were staring intently at her.

_"He's really cute" Sakura thought_

" Yeah I'm all right, though you should watch what you're doing next time" He exclaims.

"I'm sorry; I just got excited I got into the field of medics at this university "Sakura apologized again.

"Really? You did well then to get into the field of medics, that's an 85+ entree level field, congratulations"

" Thank you...Which field did you get into?"

" I got into Combat Medics "

" Combat medics! Wow, congratulations that's great "

"Thanks, by the way my names Uchiha Sauske and you are?"

" I'm Haruno Sakura, nice to meet you"

"Nice to meet you Sakura, looks like we'll be having a few classes together since we're both in the field of medics"

"Definitely, though then you have to have extra classes for field combat don't you?"

"Yeah, some extra hours on different days, I'll have to have sparring with the guys over in the field combat...That reminds me, what are you doing after this? I've entered in the Konoha University Field Combat tournament; you should come and watch"

"Really? That's where you're allowed to use ninjutsu, taijustsu and genjutsu and fight your opponent until they give up, or you beat them unconscious isn't it?

" You seem to know a bit about it don't you?"

" Yeah, well my boyfriends been raving on about it these last 2months saying his going to win it"

At the work boyfriend Sasuke got a dejected look onto his face for a split second it was so quick Sakura completely missed it. Then he thought _well looks like I'll just have to beat him up in the tournament... _"He'll have to beat me first though, and also the current defending champion."

Sakura just smirked at that and said.

"I know...I know...Well you better hurry if your entering, I'm only a spectator so I've got plenty of time, but if your entering you've only got an hour to get there"

" Your right, I better get going, it was nice to meet you Sakura, don't forget to cheer for me when I fight the defending champion"

" Nice to meet you too Sasuke, and I might cheer for you when you fight Naruto "

Sasuke had a puzzled expression on his face but before he could question her she had already started walking away.

-------------------------------------------

"SHE'S LATE!" exclaimed a spiky haired blonde in what seemed to look like a waiting room.

"You're been too loud...tsk...too troublesome"  
exclaimed a person with a ponytail sitting on a bench next to a locker.

"But Shikamaru! She said she'd come straight after she found out if she got in or not"

said the blonde while pacing around the room.

"Maybe she didn't get in?" inquired Shikamaru.

"No way! She's way too smart not to get in, How come you can go check the notice board and get back here before she did, and you haven't still told me if you got in or not!"

" If I told you will you stop talking?"

" Are you trying to say I talk too much!...but ok I'll be quiet"

" To put it simply yes you do talk too much...and yes I got in, field of War Strategist"

"No way! That's a 90+ field, how did a lazy bum like you manage to get into that!"

" I don't know...too troublesome to explain, I just did ok?"

" Are you two arguing again?"  
Came a voice from behind them, they both turned around to see a pretty blonde girl standing by the doorway.

"Ino chan!" Yelled the blonde, who ran over and gave her a big hug and spun her around a few times.

"Alright, alright put me down Naruto! People might mistake me for your girlfriend!"

The girl that had just walked in was Yamanaka Ino, Naruto's distant cousin, but not by blood, though sometimes they get mistaken for it, they both have blonde hair and blue eyes and have a similar personality.

"As if Ino chan, they wouldn't mistaken you for my girlfriend " said Naruto

" How would you be able to tell if I wasn't your girlfriend" asked Ino

" Because his my boyfriend Ino - pig! "Came another voice before Naruto could answer.

"Sakura chan!" yelled Naruto as he let go of Ino and ran over to Sakura, gave her a hug and a kiss.

A twinge of jealousy flashed across Ino's face but only Shikamaru caught it.

"How come you're so late?" asked Naruto.  
"Sorry Naruto, I just met someone who was going to be studying in the same field as me so I was talking to him for a little bit." explained Sakura.

"That's great, does that mean you got in!"   
" Sure does, Field of Medics! I got into what I wanted to get into so I'm happy"

" I'm sure you are, and you deserve it Sakura chan you put so much effort into this, I don't think anyone else deserves it more then you."

"That's sweet Naruto, thankyou, but I wouldn't have been able to do it without your support. "

True to her words Naruto had been there for her doing anything he can to help her, skipping training to stay up late with her helping her study and encouraging her along the way.

"But my question is Naruto what are you going to do with yourself? Are you going to see if you can get into Konoha University or going on your scholarship training with the legendary Sannin Jiraiya?"

Naruto had been offered a training scholarship with the legenday Sannin Jiraiya because of his excellent sense in taijutsu, ninjustsu and his incredible amount of stamina at his disposal.

" I'm not sure, it's a 3year training course outside Konoha, I'm not sure if I'm ready to leave Konoha yet, besides I'd miss you too much Sakura chan"

Sakura blushed at his words but scolded him " This if your future your talking about Naruto! Training with Jiraiya might be a once in a lifetime opportunity you shouldn't pass it off just because of me! At least think about it...ok?"

"Ok I'll sleep on it, but either way both roads will lead me closer to becoming Hokage,

but for now I need to get ready for my matches, so could you give me some time to myself?"

"Ok well it's troublesome but we'll be cheering for ya" Said Shikamaru as he slowly exited the room.  
"Yeha Naruto Good luck! Kick some ass!" Said Ino while wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

After Ino left the room Sakura says " Naruto...I know she's your cousin and all...but I don't like her being all affectionate with you"

"What do you mean Sakura chan? She's always been like that"  
"But Naruto! We're not 13 year olds anymore!"  
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_----- Flashback 5 years ago-----_

_A little girl with pink hair covering her face was sitting on the end of a bench crying her eyes out._

_A blonde haired girl slowly approached her asking "Why are you crying? "_

_The pink haired girl replied " I get picked on because I'm weaker then everyone else...and because of my forehead"_

_"Don't you have any friends to help you?"_

_" No one wants to be my friend because they think they'll get picked on too."_

_"I'll be your friend, I've just moved to the village and I haven't got any friends yet either, and I've got a cousin he can be your friend too "_

_"Really?"_

_"Yes, come on lets go find him, and my names Yamanaka Ino"_

_"Haruno Sakura!"_

_So the 2girls walked around looking for Ino's cousin when a group of 5kids their age approached them, Sakura instantly hid behind Ino._

_"Hey Wide Forehead girl who's your friend?"  
"She has a friend?"  
"No way!"_

_"She's got to be another freak"  
and the group started laughing while Sakura was silently weeping behind Ino._

_"Hey! What did she do to you guys! Picking on a girl didn't your parents teach you better? Leave her alone or else!" Ino yelled,_

_"So her freak friend can talk?"  
"But or else what?"  
"My brothers been teaching us taijutsu i think we've just found out first test dummy"_

_  
"Hey Ino chan thanks for sticking up for me but get out of here while you can, they never hurt me they just call me names..." whispered Sakura  
"No I just made my first friend in this village and I'm not going to abandon her!"_

_  
The group started circling the 2girls and were closing in then suddenly one of them fell to the floor with a scream  
"Gyaahh..." he was writhing in pain on the ground holding his head._

"_what the…" asked another one then he too was on the ground in pain._

_The other 3 panicked and looked around to see a spiky blonde haired kid sitting up in the tree wearing black long pants a white tank top.  
"OI! What do you think your doing picking on my cousin!"  
Yelled Naruto as he jumped down from the tree and kicking another 2kids to the ground._

_The last kid standing was the one who claimed his brother was teaching him taijutsu, he got into a sloppy defensive stance, but Naruto just zipped behind him and knocked him out in one hit._

_"Wow his really really cool" thought Sakura_

"_You alright Ino-chan?" asked Naruto, Ino ran up to him and gave him a hug " Yeha thanks Naruto for saving us"_

_"….Us?" asked a confused Naruto_

"_Yeha me and my new friend Haruno Sakura" Sakura had been hiding behind Ino so Naruto didn't even see her._

_He looks at her and sees a pretty girl looking shyly at the ground she notices Naruto's looking at her and she supports a blush on her cheeks.  
_

"_You're really pretty!" exclaimed Naruto, which causes Sakura to blush even more "My name is Uzumaki Naruto nice to meet you!" _

_  
Sakura slowly looks him in the eye "Nice to meet you too Naruto-san, my names Haruno Sakura"_

_"Naruto- san? You don't have to call him that Sakura, He might be strong but his only our age so need to be polite" Ino explained_

_"Yeha Sakura chan you can just call me Naruto!" Naruto said with a smile on his face_

…"_Sakura Chan, I like him calling me that…" Thought Sakura_

_"Okay, Naruto can we be friends please?" Sakura asked_

_"Of course we can" Naruto said with a foxy grin_

_"There he is Dad!" Naruto, Sakura and Ino turned around to see one of the boys Naruto had beaten up had gone to get his dad._

_  
"What do you think you little brat! Throwing rocks at my child and hurting his friends didn't your parents teach you any better?" yelled the man._

"_Firstly it was your 'little brat' that was picking on my cousin and her friend, and I don't have any parents so no, I don't think they could teach me any better" said Naruto._

"_Why you!" the man said flustered " My son would never do that! and if you don't have any parents to teach you manners looks like I'll have to do it myself" and the man back handed Naruto and Naruto hit the ground._

"…_..Kyaaa! "screamed both Ino and Sakura._

_  
The man approached Naruto but before he got to strike him again, Naruto had spun around on the ground and kicked the man's legs from under him causing him to fall hard on the ground._

"_Well as I always said, the bigger they are, the harder they fall" said Naruto with a smirk and continued on saying " Hey hey hey, I'm used to handling people like you, who blame everyone but their own kids, your worse then trash!" yelled Naruto and as he ran towards the man a voice stopped him._

_"Stop! That's quite enough from both of you"  
everyone turned to look at the voice_

_  
"Hokage – sama" whispered Sakura._

"_That's the Hokage sama?" asked Ino_

_Sakura nodded only with a nod._

_The 3rd Hokage, known as Hokage for short, is the ruler of Konoha village; he is also the protector, father and everybody's friend. He is well respected and very well liked by the whole village._

"_Hey old man! Who are you and why are you stopping me? They started it!" yelled Naruto_

'_My young friend, just because they started it how far are you willing to go? What will you achieve if you stoop to their level and do exactly the same thing as they do"_

_"I don't care how far I go! I just want to protect my family and friends!" stated Naruto_

_This statement caused a flicker of interest to appear across the Hokage's face._

_The man Naruto had tripped slowly started getting up " …. Hokage sama thank god you're here, this little brat was about to beat me up for no reason" stated the man._

_"You be quiet! I saw everything that happened here, and you are at more fault then everyone else since you should have known better, especially listening to your son who was blatantly lying and then hitting a 13year old boy I expected more of the people of this village!"_

_The man shrunk back to the ground speechless._

"_Now if I am correct you are Uzumaki Naruto? Currently being taken care of by the Yamanaka family, who have just moved here"_

_Naruto looked puzzled "How'd you know that old man?"_

"_Naurto! Have more respect his the Hokage-sama!" shouted Ino  
"Hokage? What's a Hokage?" asked Naruto_

"_He is a very well respected shinobi all over the village Naruto, he practically runs the village!" explained Ino._

_With the word respected Naruto's interest perked up, "Well when I grow up I'm going to become a Hokage too!" Naruto shouted  
" Ha! A brat like you will never become Hokage" the man shouted somehow managing to get his wits back, but that all disappeared with another comment from the Hokage._

_  
"Didn't I tell you to keep your mouth shut!" said the Hokage sternly._

"_Now Naruto to become a Hokage you must overcome many hardships, go to school study, graduate, then go to University and continue your study to become even more powerful in many aspects, intelligence, taijustu, ninjutsu and genjutsu are just a few of the apects are you willing to do that, and if so, what are your reasons?"_

_"Reasons? That's easy; I never want anyone to be treated differently for something they can not control, I want to be able to protect my precious people, starting with Ino-chan and Sakura-chan!" exclaimed Naruto, causing the two girls to blush._

"_They are good reason's Naruto-kun, Though now you do know you will have to receive a punishment for beating up those boys?" inquired the Hokage_

_But Naruto looked back with determination in his eyes and yelled " I don't care! I'd do it again even if I receive punishment for it, because no one especially my precious friends deserve to be treated like that!"  
This statement moved the people there in different ways_

_  
The hokage had a genuine smile on his face thinking " If more people were like you Naruto-kun this could be a better village, I think you would make a good Hokage if you manage to get there " _

"_Well Naruto-kun keep that determination strong. And don't forget those words, they are very good words to live by, and about the punishment, since you weren't the cause of the problem, as long as you promise me to live by those words I will over look at what has happened today"_

_"Of course old man! I will live by my words and keep my promises!" shouted Naruto._

_The man stood up and slowly started walking away with his child in tow, but before he anywhere the Hokage yelled " Just where do you think your going! For your punishment you two and the other 4boys will be doing 100hours of community service! You will receive a official letter about it tomorrow!"_

_The man just managed to stutter a "… y y yes Hokage – sama " and ran off._

"_Okay Naruto, you go home now, and take care of yourself…..and your precious people"_

_"Hey old man do you have any precious people!" asked Naruto_

_"Of course I do, there's my grandson Inari….."  
Naruto listened on intently  
"And offcourse….the whole of Konoha"  
This moved Naruto greatly, and the significance of the Hokage's words made Naruto understand on how big of a man the Hokage really was, and he swore that day he would become Hokage and be a great man like him._

_As the Hokage disappeared out of their site Naruto looked back at Ino and Sakura with the brightest smile on his face  
"So, you guys ready to go?"_

_Ino ran up to Naruto wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a kiss on the cheek  
"You were so great Naruto! And even the Hokage-sama said you might make a good Hokage!"_

_Naruto blushed at the contact but kept his smile and walked over to Sakura who was looking at the ground  
"Sorry Naruto, because of me you had to go through all that" Sakura apologised  
but Naruto just smiled and gave her a kiss on her forehead.  
"Its okay Sakura – chan, as I said your one of my precious people, so ready to go home?"_

_That day Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino developed two new feeling, Love for the boy Naruto, and Jealousy at each other for their closeness to Naruto.  
_

_-----End Flashback -----  
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That day Haruno Sakura 13years of age fell for Uzumaki Naruto, ever since that day Naruto's straight forward personality and his will to never give up, gave Sakura the courage and determination to become the girl she is today, she truly admired Naruto.

And their friendship turned into a relationship a couple of years ago, but since they'd been friends for so long not much has changed between them.

"Relax Sakura chan the only one I like is you, Ino chan is only my cousin remember?"

"I know I know, but sometimes I think she might like you more then just cousins"  
"Do I hint a bit of jealousy Sakura chan?" asked Naruto in a teasing manner.

"And if I am?" questioned Sakura  
" There's no need to be, the only one I love is you Sakura chan" stated Naruto

An awkward silence filled the room, they had been going out but as much as Sakura loved Naruto she has never said it and this was the first time Naruto had said it as well…She panicked and was about to leave the room but Naruto grabbed her by the waist from behind and whispered into her ear  
"Just try it on for size…."  
Sakura contemplated for a bit but then she replied with  
"I love you too…"  
and gave Naruto a kiss and left the room.

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Out in the Stadium

Announcer "Greeting Ladies and gentleman! Welcome to the 4th Konoha Tournament. For those who don't know the rules this tournament it is a one on one fighting match between the contestants, who ever wins will move on and the loser will be knocked out. And as you all know the winner will be granted a scholarship at our prestigious Konoha University!"

A cheer from the crowd erupts, As Shikamaru Ino and Sakura are walking down the isle looking for seats  
"Hey there's 3 seats over there! " Ino said as she hurried over to secure the seats.  
" Good thing we managed to get seats, this stadium is packed " stated Sakura  
" Troublesome...but it is the biggest tournament held once a year and anyone can compete, though you have to be of age to be able to get the scholarship, even though Naruto won last year he wasn't old enough to enter the university." Shikamaru explained

Over in the waiting room Naruto was checking all the other contestants out.

_" hmm 8 contestants as usual, There's Rock Lee, 3rd place from last year, he'll be tough looks like his been training even more, though he does have his disadvantage of not being able to use ninjustu..._

Announcer " ...and as you all know the winner will be granted a scholarship at our prestigious Konoha University!"_  
_" _If I can win it again, I'll be able to get paid to learn at the same University as Sakura Chan...I've got to win this." Thought Naruto._

Scanning the room once more he doesn't see anyone too interesting until he came across a guy with long black bangs looking at him intently, Naruto stares back thinking _What's his problem?  
_He shrugs it off and keeps scanning the room until his eyes fell on a giant gourd resting against the wall, and next to the gourd was a red head leaning against the wall with his head down and arms crossed but you could see the word "love" tattooed on the left side of his forehead.  
"Gaara!"  
Everyone else turned to look at Naruto who had shouted and was starting to make his way across the room.  
"Hey Gaara! Long time no see hows things? What ya been up to?"  
Gaara slowly looks at him  
"...Training, this time I will not lose to you Uzumaki Naruto"

" Heh, well you better have trained hard because I've been training too so I can kick your ass again!"

Now by then everyone in the room had their attention focused on the two, and Sasuke was very interested in the conversation.

_So that's Uzumaki Naruto, defending champion, and the other one must be Sabaku no Gaara, Runners up from last year, they had a match that went over 2hours, what freakish stamina they both have. I wonder who in here is Sakura's boyfriend but..._

While the others in the room were thinking along the lines of if Naruto had a death wish, Gaara has known to be aggressive and very violent.

But Gaara just smirked and said, "I expected nothing less from you, I look forward to fighting you again."

Naruto then gave him a cheeky smile and then patted him on the back

"Me too Gaara," and walked away.

No one else knows but Naruto and Gaara have always been good friend, or rivals as to say, they both had bad childhoods the only way they could survive was to be strong, so they trained together day and night until they could look after themselves.

Announcer "Will all the contestants please make your way over to the arena please"

One by one they started filing out of the room and into the arena.

As the 8 contestants looked out into the crowd they were amazed at the number of people there, there must have been at least 50,000 people in the stadium.

Naruto and Sasuke were both scanning for Sakura, while the others were mesmerized by the size of the crowd.

Announcer " Alright contestants will you please pick out a number from the box, which will determine who you will be fighting in the first round, except for Uzumaki Naruto and Sabuku no Gaara. Since you guys were 1st and 2nd place last year, you are seeded 1 and 2, therefore you will be on opposite sides of the table, so Naruto will be Number 1, and Gaara will be number 8.

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A/N can't be bothered naming everyone and such only need to know Sasuke and RockLee

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Sasuke pulled out a number 5, and Lee pulled out number 7.

As the other contestants were leaving the arena Sakura was talking to Ino, "You know how I was late today? I met number 5, Uchiha Sasuke outside Konoha Uni, His going to be studying the same thing as me at Uni" she explained  
" Uchiha Sasuke? He doesn't seem like the type to be fighting in a tournament like this, his a bit scrawny"_Compared to my Naruto anyway _Thought Ino.

"You think so? I thought he was cute, though he is very thin "  
"Oh well don't think he could beat Naruto anyway"  
"Yeha that's for sure no one can beat Naruto"  
"...Maybe, not sure about Gaara though, you do remember their match last year right?" asked Shikamaru.

They thought back to the grueling bloody 2hour match, where Naruto had just one but they both had been hospitalized for a week.

"You never left his side that week did you Sakura " teased Ino  
" No...Well you were there most of the time too though" stated Sakura  
" Yeha well he is my cousin, speaking of never leaving his side, how far have you and Naruto gotten anyway?" You two are going to the Konoha Graduation dance after this right?"  
"Of course we are, and for as how far we've gotten, well...that's none of your business Ino - pig!"

"Hey no need to get aggressive! I was just curious"

"Well they do say curiosity killed the cat... or in your case pig Ino, and why are you so curious? Jealous?"

"Of you with my own cousin? I don't think so Wide - Forehead girl, that would be called incest"

_I don't know Ino, it wouldn't be incest because your not related by blood..._"Anyway I think the matches are about to begin everyone except Naruto and his opponent has cleared the arena"

The first 3 fights were very quick  
Naruto had rendered his opponent unconcious in 1 hit, same as number 4 had beaten number 3,  
Sasuke battled his opponent finishing him off with shi shi rendan.

Announcer "Now ladies and gentleman the 4th fight for today Rock Lee VS Sabuku no Gaara! "

Lee somersaulted onto the stage where as Gaara teleported himself into the middle of the arena with his sand.

_His gotten better control of his sand, his much quicker using it the last time i fought him, i don't think Lee would have a chance, _thought Naruto.

Announcer "Ok you know the rules, no killing, but besides that anything goes, now fight!"

Lee took up a defensive position while Gaara stood there with his arms folded looking relaxed.

_So confident as always Gaara, but my spirits burning passion of youth shall beat you this time! _As Lee finished thinking he dashed forward straight at his opponent. Gaara's eyes widened in surprise by his speed, his wall of sand had come up in front to block off the threat, but Lee had dashed around to the side and managed to punch Gaara across the arena.

"Last time it was me, who could not manage to get around your wall of sand, but this time, it will be your sand which will not be able to get around fast enough to stop me!"

With that he dashed around again and started throwing punches and kicks so fast only Naruto was the one who could make anything out, everyone else only saw Gaara being pushed around the arena and blurs going around him.

_Wow, his so fast can Naruto keep up with that,_ thought Sakura.

Then a sudden explosion shook Sakura out of her thoughts, Lee had managed to punch Gaara into the wall.

The crowd was silent waiting for the dust to settle, while Lee was standing in the middle of the Arena panting and trying to regain his breath.

When the smoke settled there lay Gaara with his eyes closed and cracks all over his skin,

_ So he was using the Suna no yoroi _thought Naruto,

Gaara slowly pushed himself out of the hole in the wall, craned his neck a bit as if trying to work out a kink in his neck, and slowly walked towards the middle of the arena.

The crowd watched on as Gaara stood in his original position, with his arms crossed once again staring blankly at Lee with no proof of even taking the beating he just received.

_Looks like he didn't get hurt physically, his defense has gone up as well, Though due to his suna no yoroi, looks like his Chakra levels had been going down since the start, at most I think his only got 2/3 left. _Shikamaru analyzed.

Lee was surprised, and then pissed, how could he stand there and act like nothing had happened!  
He charged forward once again, and the sand had come forward to make a wall once again, but this time lee had dashed behind Gaara aiming for the back of the head.

The punch had connected and Lee was going to continue his assault but found that he couldn't move his arm. Before the punch had connected Gaara had intercepted the punch with his own hand and had a hold of Lee's fist.

Lee and even Naruto was surprised this time. _Last time we fought him, he only relied on his sand and ninjutsu, when did he learn taijutsu? _  
This time while Lee was taken by surprise Gaara had manage to connect his fist with Lee's face, and gave the same beating he just had received.  
_So he has learned Taijutsu, and his quick as lee as well, which was expected to be though I guess, he just never thought taijutsu would be handy until my fight with him. _Naruto thought.

This time it was Lee pushing him self out of the wall, but unlike Gaara he doesn't have an ultimate defense, he was bloody and bruised.  
" How did you manage to become so fast only in a years time? I've trained my whole life and finally attained the speed which I am at now, How can you be so fast!"  
Lee questioned  
"...I have always been this fast, walking around all the time with my gourd, plus the _suna no yoroi_ was the perfect way to get stamina and speed up, I have just never used the speed I attained with it until now" Gaara explained.

_He was always this fast? plus with all the weight from the suna no yoroi his stamina would be a lot higher then mine, If I'm going to win this I need to finish him quick before my stamina runs out._

_Initial Gate open! Followed by 2nd gate!_

Gaara and the crowd silently watched on as Lee stood there with a look of concentration on his face, though only a few people had noticed Lee's Chakra was rapidly rising.

_What is he doing, where is all this Chakra coming from? _Thought Gaara

_Ok minor wounds have healed now_..._3rd, 4th and 5th gates all OPEN!_

Lee suddenly opened his eyes and an explosion erupted from his body, his body taking on an odd color and his body was releasing Chakra constantly.

_Trust a taijutsu master to be able to open his gates _thought Shikamaru

Then without warning Lee darted all over the stadium, this time too fast for anyone to see and was circling Gaara.

Gaara still with a blank look on his face "...Come at me..."  
Lee suddenly appeared under Gaara giving him a kick into the air "Renge!"

Lee followed him into the air, and smacked Gaara around like a pinball at high speeds, you could hear Lee's muscles stretching and tearing from the pressure they were being put under, and then he kicked Gaara higher into the air, and then he was floating under him and managed to wrap his bandages around him and was speeding at high velocity towards the arena while spinning like a drill.

"Omote Renge!" Yelled Lee and as they were speeding towards the ground with more velocity.

Lee tried to undo the bandages as they were about to collide with the ground, but when he looked down at them he could see that the sand had got a grip of them and he couldn't get them undone.  
He looked back up only to see Gaara with a smirk on his face, and with the force of the sand they were being shifted so Lee would hit the ground first at this rate.

Lee desperately tried to get his bandages undone, but to no prevail it was too late, they had hit the ground with all the force and Lee had being used as a cushion.

The crowd gulped and watched on, they could only see blurs and Gaara being hit around in the air then it was all a blur after Lee wrapped his bandages around him. Most thought Gaara had died, except Naruto who just smirked _you were always quite the evil one weren't you Gaara._

When the smoke cleared they could see Gaara standing in his original position without out a scratch with his arms crossed looking bored, while Lee lied in a heap of rubble next to him unconscious.

Announcer " Winner is Sabaku no Gaara!"  
The crowd at first was silent until it slinked it on what had happened and they started applauding the battle.

Gaara teleported back next to Naruto who was watching from the waiting room, while Lee was taken away on a stretcher.

"Easy battle for you wasn't it Gaara? Though you got away without being hurt you've used about 2/3rd's of your chakra to protect yourself from the barrage of attacks I'm guessing" said Naruto.

"About 3/5th" Gaara answered.

"Doesn't mean I'll be going easy on you but in the finals Gaara so you better get as much rest as you can."

"I've said it once before Uzumaki, I didn't expect less, your next match is about to begin, I will see you in the finals"

Sasuke was fuming silently in the waiting room "_Who do they think they are! They've completely ignored me Uchiha Sasuke I'm going to go settle this."_

" Hey Uzumaki!" Sasuke yelled.

Naruto slowly turns around and faces Sasuke thinking _Him again? what does he want _ " And who might you be?"  
To tell the truth Naruto had only been interested in Gaara and Lee so had paid no attention to anyone else, since they didn't seem to have a high Chakra capacity level.

"My names Uchiha Sasuke if you think you'll be fighting Sabaku no Gaara in the finals, your wrong opponent will be me!"

Naruto thought for a moment "Uchiha...Uchiha as in the brother as Uchiha Itachi?"

Sasuke's eyes flashed with anger  
" How do you know my brother!"

The last anyone had seen Uchiha Itachi he had started a rebellion against Konoha and going off with some type of organization.

"Relax Sasuke, I don't care what he got up to, I only know of whom he is because he won the very first tournament held here remember?"

Uchia Itachi at the age of 12 had won the very first tournament Konoha had and because of his superb skills got early entry into the university. But of course he knew that, he had entered the tournament for the very same reason, to prove that he can achieve what his brother received.

"And if you think you can beat Gaara, well then good luck, because you'll need it"

And Naruto saying that waved the Uchiha a farewell over his head and walked into the arena.

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Announcer "And Uzumaki Naruto has beaten his opponent with one hit again securing him a spot in the finals, is there anybody who can stop him?"

Gaara and Sasuke both smirked _"I'll be the one who stops him"_

Announcer "Could Uchiha Sasuke and Sabaku no Gaara make you way to the arena please"

As soon as the announcer finished his sentence Sasuke and Gaara both teleported into the arena, Gaara by sand and Sasuke in a swirl of leaves.

"_His so cool" thought Sakura_

"_pfft show offs" were Ino's thoughts_

"_Gaara's only got about 30 of his charka left while Sasuke used purely taijustu in his match before, this should be an interesting match, we'll see how good you've really gotten Gaara" thought Naruto._

Announcer "Match Begin!"

Sakura started with throwing a few kunais towards Gaara, but they were intercepted by the wall of sand, which turned into a suna bunshin and threw the Kunais back at Sasuke, when sasuke rolled out of the way and looked back up to where Gaara was he wasn't there, he looked to his left only to receive a fist to the face.

"_So his incorporated Taijutsu into his old way of fighting, very effective, while he had an absolute defense before, people who were quick enough could break through, now it's a high speed absolute defense, but his rushing the match, seems like his really running out of charka and doesn't want to prolong the match" thought Naruto._

When sasuke got up Gaara was nowhere to be seen again but he heard rumbling noise from his left and could see a wave of sound coming at him, he jumped backwards to get away from it, only to receive a kick in the back which made him crash straight into the wave of sand which engulfed him.

The crowd was silent, and Gaara was panting slightly, when the sand settled to the ground the only thing lying in the sand was a log  
_"Kawarimi no jutsu, very good for someone who got surprise attacked" Thought Shikamaru_

"_Damn that was almost all my charka in that wave, thought I'd caught him off guard" Thought Gaara._

There was no sight of Sasuke until Gaara heard a chirping noise from behind him, he turned around to see Sasuke charging towards him with his right hand engulfed in bright blue charka.

"CHIDORI!" yelled Sasuke as he thrusted his hand towards Gaara  
"_No time to dodge or wear the armour of sand" thought Gaara "I'm going to use all my charka but I have to dodge this"_

Gaara sucked back on air and yelled " Fuuton Renkudan!" and a high compact velocity air cannon ball charged with charka dissipated the chidori and made Sasuke fly back into the wall of the arena.

The wall shook from the force and the crowd was watching intently,  
Gaara stood there panting exhausted from charka depletion, "_Damn was planning to save that against Naruto, now I don't think I could even beat this guy if he managed to get up." Thought Gaara._

Out of the rubble Sasuke slowly emerged with scratches and bruises forming but he seemed to be able to continue.

"_damn that hurt how much chakra does he have, he must of used a lot against Lee and he still has enough to fight even…no even stronger then me, what kind of training did he have?" thought sasuke_

A whistling noise broke Sasuke out of his thoughts; Gaara had used the Suna Shigure and was shooting sand pellets at him.  
Though not with enough speed or chakra to do much damage.

Sasuke was confused but darted around Gaara and came from behind, the wall of sand rose, but he feinted left and went right and was about to give Gaara a roundhouse kick when Gaara dissapered from his line of vision.

_"What the…."thought Sasuke_

But Gaara had exhausted all his chakra and had fallen due to charka depletion.

Announcer "And the winner is Uchia Sasuke by default, Sabuku no Gaara is no longer able to continue due to chakra depletion."

The crowd cheered on  
_"wow that Sasuke-kun must be strong to be able to beat Sabaku no Gaara quicker then Naruto" thought Sakura, _

Now even though Sakura liked Naruto, her body seemed to be lusting after Sasuke which clouded her judgment, She'd totally forgotten that when Naruto and Gaara fought they were both at full Chakra when this time Gaara had only 1/3 left.

"Go Sasuke – kuun!" cheered Sakura

Sasuke heard a familiar voice amongst the crowd and looked over to a pink haired girl smiling and waving at him and giving him a thumbs u, he smiled back and gave her a wave and walked off.

_"Sasuke KUN? Since when does she call anyone with KUN behind their name? She doesn't even call Naruto with a Kun" Ino thought annoyed._

Shikamaru was thinking along the same lines, but he thought females were annoying and couldn't be bothered looking further into it so he looked up at the clouds, only to find the ceiling of the arena…."_Damn" he thought " Naruto your next opponent has taken a beating, and wasn't that strong in the first place you better beat him quick so I can go look at the clouds" thought shikamaru._

"Now there will be a 1hour interval to let our fighters rest before the final match so please sit tight and we'll begin the finals shortly" explained the Announcer

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_Well there's that for now, I'm definitely going to continue this fic for the time being got plenty of ideas floating around_

_Still need to write the Konoha graduation dance, and Naruto's either training scholarship with Jiraiya or through the university._

_If you don't like my ideas I'm sorry but I like this fic and im sticking with it, if you read it, it's your sin not mine._

_And can anyone guess what movie the line  
"I love you"  
" just try it on for size"  
" I love you too"  
comes from?  
if not don't worry but if you can, cool I like that movie ay._

_Anyhow thanks again for reading and next chapter might be out before the end of the week._


	2. Tournament then Dance

_Disclaimers/Authors Notes_

_  
I'm back again with a whooping quick continuation from yesterday, I got bored today so decided to write a bit more.  
Once again I don't own any of the characters and stuff and don't plan to make money from it,_

_For the people who reviewed thanks heaps, at least no flames as of yet. But I haven't thought the story out THAT well so there will be loop holes so please bear with me._

_Last Chapter_

"_Sasuke KUN? Since when does she call anyone with KUN behind their name? She doesn't even call Naruto with a Kun" Ino thought annoyed._

_Shikamaru was thinking along the same lines, but he thought females were annoying and couldn't be bothered looking further into it so he looked up at the clouds, only to find the ceiling of the arena…."Damn" he thought " Naruto your next opponent has taken a beating, and wasn't that strong in the first place you better beat him quick so I can go look at the clouds" thought shikamaru._

"_Now there will be a 1hour interval to let our fighters rest before the final match so please sit tight and we'll begin the finals shortly" explained the Announcer_

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_In the waiting room_

"Congratulations on beating Gaara" Said Naruto as Sasuke walked back in.

Sasuke looked at him for a minute but then replied with" Thanks"

"Though the outcome might have been different if Gaara was at full power"

Sasuke looked at him angrily, but then sighed, "Not might have been different. It definitely would have been different, none of my attacks were doing any damages, and he just blew me away when I went in with my best move."

"That was the chidori right? From what I heard only one person, Copy nin Kakashi could do that move, how did you get to learn it?"

"Kakashi has been looking after me ever since I've been 10 he taught me most of the things I know along the way." Sasuke explained.

_"Interesting, I may have under estimated him being trained by the legendary copy nin Kakashi would make him a formidable opponent. Though I have had training with Ino Shika Cho trio, thanks to Ino's dad, and Jiraiya every now and then when he decides to pop up, I should be able to beat him, since his low on chakra now it seems...and no one besides Gaara knows about me having 2 sources of chakra" thought Naruto._

"Hey Naruto!" a yell from the door broke him out of his thoughts  
"Hey Ino chan!" replied Naruto  
Ino walked in followed by Shikamaru

"What are you guys doing here?" Naruto asked,  
"Well the 1hour intermission got too boring so we decided to come visit before the finals"

"I wanted to stay but she insisted we come down and visit," said Shikamaru

Naruto nodded and was curiously looking around them looking for something.

"Don't worry she'll be here soon she just went to get you a drink" Ino said

And as she finished said that Sakura walked into the room looking around, but before Naruto could call out someone beat him to it

"Hey Sakura" Sasuke said.  
Sakura turned around to see Sasuke standing behind him.  
"Hey Sasuke kun, nice fight against Gaara"

At the word kun Naruto raised his eyebrow to Ino and Shikamru and mouthed _kun?  
_Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders and Ino explained,  
"Apparently they're doing the same field of study at Konoha uni, they met this morning sakura mentioned before."  
Naruto nodded his head in understanding but he still didn't like the fact she was calling him kun.

"So where's your boyfriend?" Sasuke asked  
Sakura replied with a smirk "Oh, his around somewhere"

Ino got a puzzled look on her face, "_Why is she playing games with him?" she thought._

_"That must mean he must of already been knocked out so he must of not been anyone formidable." thought Sasuke._

"Well what are you doing after this? I heard there was a Konoha graduation dance, but It's pretty much an open dance, I was planning on going but didn't have anyone to show me around could you show me around?" Sasuke asked

_"The nerve of this guy asking out my girlfriend when I'm sitting on the other side of the room" thought Naruto, _He stood up and walked up behind Sakura and put his arms around his waist.

"And what is this lovely young lady doing in the waiting room, maybe you're a fan of mine?" Asked Naruto jokingly

_Shikamaru smirked and thought "How troublesome"  
_

"Hey Uzumaki do you mind? I was talking to Sakura," exclaimed Sasuke

Naruto looked up at Sasuke and said.  
"I'm sure Sakura chan doesn't mind if I interrupt you for a minute, do you Sakura chan?" Naruto asked.

Sakura sighed mentally, when Naruto got protective, he got very protective, he reminded her of a fox protecting its litter.

"Naruto this is Sasuke, I met him this morning we'll be attending the most of the same classes at Uni, and Sasuke, meet Uzumaki Naruto, my boyfriend" Sakura explained and with that Naruto leant over to give her a kiss.

Sasuke looked surprised and thought "_No wonder she said she 'might' cheer for me when I fight the defending champion, it's her boyfriend god crying out loud"_

"Sorry Sasuke she won't be showing you around anywhere she'll be attending the dance with me" Naruto said.

"Oh by the way here I got you a drink Naruto" passing the drink to Naruto

" Thanks Sakura chan" He grabbed the drink and proceeded to drink it.

And they walked over to Ino and Shikamaru and were making idle chit chat, well actually it was more of Ino and Sakura talking to Naruto and Shikamaru just nodding away at what people said.

About 20min later:

Announcer " Now will the two finalists please make there way towards the arena!"

"That's our queue, I'll see you after the match" Said Naruto  
"Good luck Naruto!" said Ino  
"Yeha good luck" said Shikamaru

Sakura gave Naruto a quick kiss and said "Good luck Naruto" and then she looked over to Sasuke "Good luck to you too Sasuke kun"  
With that she left the room.

Naruto walked over to Sasuke with his hand out. "Let the best fighter win"  
Sasuke shook his hand with a smile "Would be a pleasure to fight you Naruto"

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Naruto and Sasuke both stood facing each other in the middle of the arena

Announcer "Now to see who will win the finals of the Konoha tournament, let's begin this match now!"

The two fighters looked on intently at each other trying to find an opening, finding none they both stood still waiting.

The crowd was silently watching them on, until Sasuke broke the tension by doing a set of seals then yelling "_Katon Housenka" _spitting out numerous fireballs towards Naruto,

Naruto rolled to the right to dodge out of the way, and the _Housenka _hit the ground creating a small dust of cloud to appear hiding naruto from vision.

"_His got to get out of there he won't be able to see him either" thought Sasuke_

True to his thoughts Naruto burst out of the smoke only to find a barrage of Kunais coming at him, focusing his chakra into his feet he dodged into the air.

_"Wrong move" thought sasuke with a smirk._

Doing another set of seals his yelled "_Katon Goukakyuu no jutsu "_Blowing out a huge charka enhanced flame at Naruto.

"Gyaaahhhh" Naruto yelled out as his body got engulfed in the flame, and the crowd could make out the traces of Naruto in the flame getting burnt.

The crowd cheered for Sasuke who had displayed an excellent skill of tactics and trapping the enemy.

When the flame subsided in the air there was nothing there.

Sasuke was still staring into the air where he thought Naruto was only to receive a punch to the side of the face.

Naruto had made a Kage bunshin when the _Housenka _made a smoke screen for him and sent the Kage bunshin into the barrage of kunais and in the path of the_ Goukakyuu _to create an opening in Sasuke's defense.

As Sasuke skidded across the ground Naruto didn't relent, he had already made 5 kage bunshins and 4 of them were sliding in from beneath,  
"U-ZU-MA-KI" yelled the 4 kage bunshins as they kicked Sasuke into the air, and as the real Naruto catapulted off the last Kage bunshin he flipped into the air and yelled "RENDAN" delivering a powerful hell kick using the force from the flip as well into Sasuke making him catapult into the ground.

This time crowd cheered at the cunningness and power of Naruto who had countered perfectly all of Sasuke's tactics.

Sasuke launched out of the ground eyes blazing, he forced power into his right hand calling forth chakra to create the Chidori.  
Naruto had seen this and with a look of concentration on his hand he had created a chakra vortex in his right hand making the Rasengan.

They both looked at each other Sasuke with blue bits of charka giving off the impression there was electricity sparking around his hand, and Naruto had a vortext of charka shifting the air around him.

Then without any other notice they both sprinted towards each other, thrusting all their power into their moves, Sasuke yelled out _"Chidori!"_ while Naruto yelled out "_Rasengan!"_  
The chakra's clashing had made another explosion blocking the two fighters from the vision of the crowd.

Sakura held her breath thinking _"Please be alright Naruto."_

Inside the explosion the fierce battle was still continuing.  
They both stood there with there arms held out sustaining their moves, and the clashing of charka whipping out wildly creating a chakra vortex around them.

They were evenly matched until Naruto's Rasengan started drilling away at Sasuke's Chidori dissipating it.  
And when the chidori was wiped away Sasuke's palm met Naruto's spiralling charka and he was sent spiralling out of the smoke.

On the outside the crowd could hear the noise of chakra whipping about and sometimes flash's of chakra between the smoke, until one section of the smoke blew away to reveal a shadow spiralling out.  
The person was spinning out of control and hit the ground with a loud thud and kept skidding across it.

The crowd went silent trying to see who it was.

When they finally came to a stop it revealed to be Sasuke who was struggling to get back up on his feet.

With Sasuke disturbing the chakra vortex keeping the smoke up, the smoke slowly started to die down and it showed Naruto standing in the middle of the arena with a smile on his face.

The announcer seeing that Sasuke had given up trying to get up announced

"And the winner of the tournament 2nd year in a row is Uzumaki Naruto!"

The crowd went wild cheering him on while Naruto walked over to help Sasuke up,  
"Hey I don't need your help!" Sasuke said.  
"Relax Sasuke it was a good fight" replied Naruto "See the medics are coming over you won't need my help for much longer"

And the medics took Sasuke and placed him in the stretcher, but before they took him away he said " Naruto….Good fight" and smiled at him.  
Naruto just smiled back and gave him a thumbs up.

Announcer" So that concludes the tournament, could Uzumaki Naruto please make your way over to the Hokage since he personally wants to have a word with you…"  
With that Naruto gave a wave to the crowd and headed back towards the waiting room.  
"…and everyone else, thankyou for coming today and hope you had a great time watching these contestants battle it out, see you the next time the tournament is held in Konoha! Farewell" and with that the announcer teleported out of the arena.

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While Naruto was preparing to go meet the Hokage someone knocked on the door to the waiting room.

"Come in" Naruto said.

Sakura walked in with a smile on her face, she looked at him for a moment but then ran up and jumped on him and giving him a hug.

"Woah woah, calm down Sakura chan" Naruto said.

"How can you be so calm Naruto! You just won the Konoha tournament; you've gained yourself a scholarship to Konoha University, where they'll pay you to train and study the ways of the shinobi, congratulations!" said Sakura excitedly.

"Thanks Sakura chan, I just guess it hasn't kicked in yet still got the adrenaline rush from the match." Naruto explained.

"Well I better let you go and see the Hokage - sama the quicker you go there the quicker you can get to the dance, which is only in an hours time! I have to go home and get ready!" sakura panicked.

"Okay you go home and get ready and I'll meet you there, how does that sound?" asked Naruto.

"Excellent, but make sure you save the first and last dance for me, it's our graduation and I want it to be with you ok?" asked Sakura.

"Okay I promise, now let's get going I don't want to upset the old man, dance starts at 7p.m right?" asked Naruto

Sakura nodded and gave him a quick hug and left the waiting room, while Naruto gathered his belongings and made his way to the Hokage Tower.

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Hokage Tower

_Knock Knock_

"Come in" Said the 3rd Hokage.

"Hey old man how's things?" asked Naruto casually.

The hokage chuckled silently and thought_ "After all these years he's the only one who treats me on the same level as everyone else, no respect at all, but that's what I like about him"._

"First of all congratulations Naruto for winning the tournament, I saw the match and you've certainly come along very nicely since you've been 13." Stated the Hokage

"Thanks old man, but what is this meeting about? Sorry but I'm sort of in a rush and need to be somewhere" explained Naruto

"Ho ho ho , the Konoha graduation dance right? Don't worry my boy I won't take too much of your time, I was just curious as to wether you've decided to go to Konoha University or take up your trainingship offer with Jiraiya" asked the Hokage.

"Well going to the Konoha University will definitely put me one step closer to becoming Hokage wouldn't it? All the previous Hokage's went there and if I don't go there I don't want to jynx myself" Naruto said, _"Plus Sakura chan will be there too I'll be able to stay with her" Naruto thought._

"Ahh yes, but don't forget the Yondaime graduated from there as well, but he did not become Hokage until he had being personally trained by Jiraiya, Konoha University forgets to mention that fact every now and then, just to keep appearance up to outside villages." The Hokage explained.

"What sort of things would Jiraiya be teaching me but?" inquired Naruto.

"Why don't you ask him yourself? You can come in now Jiraiya" said the hokage.

Through the door on the left a man in his 50's, very tall and with a strong build came into the room.

"Naruto, long time no see, keeping out of trouble I hope?" Asked Jiraiya.

"Well I think I'm keeping out of more trouble then you, been peeing in any bath houses lately?" asked Naruto,

"That's none of your business!" exclaimed Jiraiya.

"Now now we're here to discuss important matters, Jiraiya please tell him what your training will consist of" said the hokage.

" Well Naruto, you know at the university, you will learn the basic theory of all three aspects of being a shinobi, Ninjutsu, Taijutsu and Genjutsu and also you will learn stragety, chakra control and manipulation and all the other stuff involved, then apply them in simulations set up around the training grounds or in sparring matches?" asked Jiraiya

Naruto nodded listening intently.

"Well that's all great, but there's one thing missing when you do it in simulations and between people you know, the element of danger, when your with me we'll be doing all of the above and also going on real missions given by the hokage himself, usually A-Ranked missions, which involves infiltration, assassinations, rescuing hostages e.t.c." explained Jiraiya.

"So instead of finishing Uni, and having little experience in the field, you'll already have the experience needed which will move you up quicker in the ranks. Don't get me wrong you'll still be doing missions through the university, but they won't be as hard depending on how well you are doing." explained the hokage.

"You'll also have the experience of team work!" stated Jiraiya.

"Team work?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, well you didn't think you were the only one being offered this were you? In the uni, they teach you stuff like war strategy and reconnaissance and such but someone like you wouldn't fit in that aspect of battle, your more like the brute force, attacking force, what ever you want to call it, so instead of teaching you stuff you don't need, we'll mainly concentrate on areas of your expertise."

"How does that help my team work but?" asked Naruto.

"Let me finish, I'll also be taking a few other people with me on the training trip, like I just mentioned a war strategist a spy for reconnaissance a medic and probably another brute pushing force like you, So when you come out of my training you'll already have a 5 man squad that has been training together for 3years, usually they stay together until some circumstanced forbid them" explained Jiraiya.

Naruto stood there pondering for a minute.

"_This training with Jiraiya sounds like a really good idea, sounds dangerous, but I love those kind of situations, and he also mentioned a medic so maybe Sakura Chan can come too, though she tried so hard to get into Konoha uni I don't think she'd be willing to give it up so quick,and I don't think I want her to be in dangerous positions where she can get hurt….I can always go on my training ship after I come out of uni I guess like the Yondaime, waiting 3years won't hurt"_

"So what do you think Naruto?" asked the hokage.

"Well I have been thinking this out for awhile now, but I think like everyone else I will be attending the Konoha university first, I've got my scholarship through it now and it's looking to be pretty concrete, where as if I go with Jiraiya I might not be able to get the scholarship when I come back in 3years" Naruto explained.

"Now don't get me wrong training with you Jiraiya would be an honour, but I was just thinking like the yondaime I could always join you on your training ship after university correct? If so I would like to go through the university first, and the road to becoming hokage is a long road and there's no shortcuts so I'm going to bear through it all" Naruto said determined.

Jiraiya and the Hokage both smiled at this, and then the Hokage smiled.

"You determination hasn't changed since 5years ago Naruto, I wish you luck in Uni, though if you ever feel like pulling out early to go with Jiraiya your more then welcome too ok?" explained the Hokage.

"Ok thanks old man……WHAT! It's already 9:30p.m! I need to get changed and go to the dance, I'll see you later old man and Jiraiya!" with that he sped out the door.

"Full of energy that kid, as always don't you think?" asked the Hokage

"Yeah he is, though it'll be a shame having to wait till he graduates uni to take him training, he could really be a force to be beckoned with if a war was to break out." Said Jiraiya

"We'll see for some reason I don't think he joined the uni for the right reasons, we'll have to see and play it by ear, he may see that it was not the best choice for him" said the Hokage

Jiraiya rasied his eyebrows at him questioningly but didn't say anything.

"So Jiraiya, who do you think you will take with you on your training then for 3years?" asked the Hokage.

" From the batch this year? No one, none of them really seemed to stand out like Naruto, Though next year, I might see if that Gaara kid wants to come with me, him and Naruto seem to pack a hard punch and the amount of chakra they have are unbelievable" explained Jiraiya.

"Well they do have their '_Special circumstances'_" said the Hokage.

"Having Naruto and Gaara training with me, now that would do Konoha a huge boost in military, those two teamed up together would be a force to be reckoned with, they'd almost be unstoppable" Jiraiya said

"Though with the way things are going that may not be possible" Jiraiya continued.

"we'll see….we'll see" said the hokage with a knowing look.

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Naruto had entered the dance hall late since his meeting had gone longer then expected.

The DJ was already playing and the music was flowing through the hall, the lights were turned down and they had coloured lights going through. The people were dressed up very formally, the ladies in fabulous dresses and the guys flashy in suits.

He made his way through the crowd to look for Sakura hoping she wasn't too pissed off that he was late but he had promises to keep.

Sakura was chatting with Ino and Shikamaru smiling and laughing brightly, but on the inside she was fuming

_"Where is he? The dance is almost over if he doesn't hurry up" she thought._

But right then someone had tapped on the shoulder, she turned around with the brightest smile she could manage expecting Naruto, but it wasn't him, it was Sasuke.

"Hey Sakura you look great tonight" Sasuke said  
"Thankyou Sasuke kun you don't look too bad yourself " Sakura said but on the inside inner sakura was pissed _"Is he saying I don't look fabulous any other time!"  
_

"Where's your boyfriend Sakura shouldn't he be here at the dance with you?" asked Sasuke emphasising on the word boyfriend._  
_

_"I don't like this guy at all" thought Shikamaru._

"His with the Hokage and Jiraiya making choices about his future, you know important tournament winner business" said Ino

Sasuke got a frown on his face but it quickly disappeared as it appeared.

"Well if his not here may I ask you for a dance Sakura?"

Sakura thought for a minute but she didn't want to go home without a dance and plus a really cute guy was asking her so accepted his offer and went towards the floor with him.

As they walked off towards the dance floor Naruto approached Ino and Shikamaru.  
"Hey guys have you seen Sakura chan?"  
Naruto asked  
"Yeha she went off towards the dance floor I think" Ino replied  
"Thanks, by the way you look great Ino chan" and with that Naruto walked off towards the floor as well.

_"Busted!" thought Ino_

_"Troublesome" thought Shikamaru_

"Hey Shikamaru while we're here you want to have a dance?" asked Ino

_"She only wants to go watch the commotion but it'd be too troublesome to argue with her" thought Shikamaru  
_"Okay Ino lead the way," he said.

Naurto found Sakura walking with her back to him so he called out to her "Hey Sakura chan sorry I'm late the meeting with the old man went for longer then expect"

Both Sakura and Sasuke turned around.

_"Not him again!" thought both the boys._

Sasuke had his hand on the small of Sakura's back ready to dance, Naruto looked at Sakura questioningly but just sighed out loudly, turned around and started to walk away but Sakura had grabbed his hand.

"Sorry Naruto, it's just that I didn't know if you were coming or not and Sasuke kun asked me to dance, I didn't want to say no, just in case you didn't make it and I didn't get a chance to dance at my own graduation." Sakura explained.

Naruto just looked at her, then just whispered, "You look as gorgeous as always Sakura chan" and walked away.

Sakura had worried look in her eyes and would have followed him, but Sasuke had put his hand on her waist and got ready to dance with her.

She realised she would only humiliate him if she walked off now to find Naruto so she started dancing with him but her eyes were wandering the crowd looking for Naruto.

_"Damn who does he think he is stealing other people's girlfriends and dancing with them, maybe I should have hospitalised him" Naruto thought._

Naruto was lost in his thoughts so wasn't watching where he was going until he bumped into someone with blonde hair.  
"Hey, watch where you're walking," said a blonde girl.  
_"Ino?" Naruto thought_ _"No wait can't be she's not this tall"  
_Naruto looked at the girl, she had emerald eyes straight long blonde hair and a dark/purplish spaghetti strap dress on.

"_Why do I get the feeling I know her from somewhere?" Naruto thought  
_"Oh it's you Naruto!" she exclaimed "Congratulations on winning the tournament" she said.

"Thanks." Naruto answered unsurely.

"Thought it should have been another you and Gaara finals, seems like that Lee kid was tougher then he looked."

Then it clicked in Naruto's head, _"Its Temari! Gaara's sister" he thought." Didn't recognise her with her hair out like this."_

"So where is Gaara anyway, isn't he a year younger then us?" Naruto asked.

"I had to drag him here, and he's a year younger so he won't be finishing till next year, if he doesn't kill anyone I guess, and I think his up on the roof as always, it's full moon tonight and you know how he can be difficult during those times" explained Temari.

_"Yeha difficult as in he gets blood thirsty and violent...well more so then usual" snickered Naruto._

"Well I might go up and have a chat to him, I'll see you around Temari" said Naruto and as he was about to walk away Ino and Shikamaru turned up.

"Fancy running into you again Naruto, did you find Sakura?" asked Ino innocently.  
_"She's just trying to stir things up, plus offcourse we'd run into him, you were following him the whole time." thought Shikamaru._

_  
_"Yeha she is dancing with Sasuke 'kun'" said Naruto bitterly emphasising the word Kun.

"Really? What is that girl thinking; well while they're dancing you want to dance with me?" asked Ino.  
Naruto having no reason not to dance with Ino, agreed and the two made their way to the dance floor, leaving Temari and Shikamaru behind.

"Well... That leaves just the two of us doesn't it?" stated Temari.

Shikamaru and Temari know each other since Naruto and Gaara are friends they tended to see each other every now and then.

"_I bet Ino planned this as well" he thought._

"Yeha sure does, would you like to dance Temari?" he asked.

Temari was surprised she thought she'd have to coax him into dancing. _"Well saves me a lot of trouble," thought Temari._

"I'd love too Shikamaru" she said.

While Shikamaru was thinking along the lines of _"Either way I'm guessing she would have wanted to dance, might as well as save the trouble and get it over and done with"._

Out on the dance floor Ino and Naruto had already started dancing, though Naruto wasn't really into it, he was looking around for Sakura, Ino had noticed this, so when the song ended and a slow song came on she had a plan.

She put naruto's hands on her waist and went to put her arms around his neck but he stopped her  
"What are you doing Ino?" whispered Naruto.

"Getting comfortable" replied Ino.

_"Well you're making me uncomfortable" thought Naruto.  
_"Hey I'm getting a bit thirsty you want to come with me and get a drink?" He asked.

Ino agreed reluctantly and they walked off the dance floor.  
Sakura had seen all of it and was fuming when Ino was about to put her arms around his neck, but was relieved when he stopped her.  
She saw this as her chance, and thanked Sasuke for the dance and went to look for the two.

She found Naruto sitting by the bar with a drink, but no sight of Ino _"Even better" thought Sakura.  
_She came up behind him and put her arms around from behind him and her head on his shoulders and whispered into his ear.

"Sorry for making you wait."  
"I thought you wanted me to save the first dance for you Sakura chan..." Naruto said.

"I said I was sorry Naruto, I wasn't even sure if you were going to make it...I'm really sorry Naruto, I'll make it up to you." she said pleadingly.

Then the DJ announced "And the last song for the evening is coming up ladies and gentleman, find your partners and make your way over to the dance floor."

The lights dimmed so it was almost dark, they had a few lights on which made it look like it was the moonlight was shining on the dance floor.

Sakura took a few steps back and was looking at Naruto.  
"Naruto, may I have this dance please?"  
Naruto looked at her, finished his drink and reluctantly got up and they made their way to the dance floor.

He had his arms around her waist and she had her arms around his neck, but he wasn't looking at her, it was as if he was seeing through her.

"Your not very happy with me at the moment are you?" asked Sakura.

"Should I be?" asked Naruto.

"Your not Jealous are you Naruto?"

For some reason that line was very familiar to Naruto.

"To tell you the truth...Yes I am jealous"  
Sakura got a look of sympathy on her face, she knew how that felt.  
"You have nothing to worry about Naruto, nothing at all" then she moved closer to kiss him but was cut off by a hand.  
"Hey hey, there is a time and place for that sort of thing, you two should get a room" Said Temari as she danced away with Shikamaru.

"Maybe we will!" Sakura yelled, then whispered into Naruto's ear "...My parents aren't going to be home tonight" then pulled away and gave Naruto a shy smile and a blush across her cheeks.  
Naruto got the meaning and smiled back and leant and kissed her, Sakura hungrily kissed back and their tongues were dancing around tasting each other.

They came up for air when the lights came back on and the song ended, everyone slowly made there way out of the hall finding their friends and chatting with them as they left.

They met up with Shikamaru,Temari, Ino and Gaara was up on the roof who Naruto had to go get.

They slowly trudged home recapping on the nights events,  
Temari and Ino had a secret discussion on Shikamaru, which turned into Temari teasing Ino for trying to get with Naruto, which Ino of course denied.

Naruto asking Gaara why he didn't come down, but then got the point when Gaara didn't answer him, instead they started talking about the fights they had today.

Shikamaru was towards the back with both hands behind his head looking up at the moon thinking how life would be easier if he were the clouds.

Sakura was thinking about tonight _"Me and Nartuo alone tonight and my parents are out are we really going to go through with it? I know I'm ready, well I think I'm ready, well I know I love him, and I know he loves me, it should be a special occasion for us…what happens if he hurts me?" _Were the thoughts running through her head but in the corner of her mind she was thinking_ "I wonder where Sasuke kun went?"_

She was broken out of her thought when Naruto wrapped his arm around her waits and was walking beside her.  
"Where'd everyone else go?" asked Sakura.

"Are you alright Sakura? You've been out of it since we've left the hall, we just got to the intersection and everyone went home remember?" Naruto said "and we're right outside your house now."

She looked up and they were at her door steps, she couldn't believe how fast that walk went.

_"What!" _Sakura thought_ "I wanted more time to think about this" _

"Well….umm…." Sakura was struggling for words and her body was shaking and she had a panicked look in her eyes.

Then all of a sudden Naruto grabbed Sakura she closed her eyes and shrieked.

But when she realised what had happened her head was buried her head in his warm chest and she was really comfortable and she felt safe.

"Sakura chan, you know we don't have to do this tonight. Your shaking at the moment, I'll wait until your ready Sakura chan"

"_I don't think she's ready for this" _were Naruto's thoughts_ " she seemed okay with the idea at the hall but once we left she's been out of it, I don't want to pressure her into anything she's not ready for"_

But his thoughts were cut off by a pair of warm lips covering his own.

"_He's so caring, he's always been so caring how could I even remotely think that he would hurt me, I know I want tonight to happen" thought Sakura._

As Sakura moved back from the kiss, her shaking had stopped she was a lot calmer and her smile had come back to her face.

"You okay now Sakura chan?" asked Naruto.  
"I'm okay now, thanks Naruto, your always caring about me" replied Sakura  
Naruto was about to reply but she put a finger to his lips.  
"Shhh….no more talking, let's go inside…." And with that Sakura held his hand and slowly entered the house and led him to her bedroom where they both completed each other completely for the first time.

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So here's chapter two finished, no Lemon! Thought only coz its 11:30 p.m and I wanted to go to bed, I might write a lemon for this later on.

Anyways once again thanks for the reviews guys, and if you were disappointed with the outcome, don't worry this story will go for awhile, so pairing will change, other characters will pop up, and the training and stuff will definitely come through.

Thanks for your time in reading this guys!


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